1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to interactive games with physical and/or tactile game or playing surfaces such as billiards, bowling, and similar games where users or players interact with or move game components or objects on a game or playing surface, more particularly, to systems, devices, and methods for augmenting, enhancing, or changing one or more game surfaces of an interactive game with augmentation content that may include projected media or projected portion (such as video images selected or generated in response to player interaction with the game surfaces) and may also include an audio portion.
2. Relevant Background
Recreation and entertainment centers continue to be popular around the world with attendance only expected to increase in the coming years. Traditional games such as bowling, billiards/pool, ping pong, and air hockey are still typically provided at such entertainment centers along with pin ball machines and video games. The table top games and other conventional games such as bowling may be thought of as the original interactive games as they allow a player to interact with a physical and often three dimensional (3D) game or playing surface such as by moving one or more game components or elements (e.g., using a cue to move billiard balls about an upper surface of a table).
While considered fun by many, traditional interactive games such as bowling are often being replaced by video games and higher end game experiences. For example, air hockey games often are replaced in entertainment facilities with video games and even with virtual reality systems and simulators such as flight simulators or interactive sports games (e.g., boxing, soccer, and other simulation games that allow a user to interact physically with a video game console/display). In many ways, game enthusiasts' expectations are being heightened by the game play experience provided by video games.
Traditional games such as pool and bowling tend to rely on competitors that are trying to enhance their skills or improve their scores or on new participants for continued use or any increases in popularity; however, the trend continues away from such games. Some attempts have been made to retain interest in traditional games such as bowling. For example, many bowling facilities have times set aside when special music and lighting effects are provided such as dance or disco music and spot lights, flashing lights, and disco light effects in an otherwise darkened area by the alleys. In other cases, static images such as logos are projected on or near play surfaces such as one or more lanes or on a wall near the game surfaces. These lighting and sound effects typically provide little variation and allow no user interaction or input with regard to the effects and have had only limited success in creating new or renewed interest in playing traditional or original “interactive” games.